


The Beast Within

by Slayer_of_Hearts



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: Comfort, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:53:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28065021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slayer_of_Hearts/pseuds/Slayer_of_Hearts
Summary: Al gets hurt during a fight and Simba goes feral to protect her
Relationships: Simba/Al
Kudos: 1
Collections: Sin Bin DnD





	The Beast Within

**Author's Note:**

> TW: There's a character who says some icky/pervy things to Al (nothing too bad but wanted to put it anyway), minor mentions of blood and injury

“Another day, another supply run in a small village where nothing exciting happens, eh boss?” Simba says as him and Al stroll through the busy village square. 

“Not everything needs to be exciting you know” Al replies with a subtle eye roll. “After that mess we had to deal with a few villages back, I’ll gladly take a ‘boring’ village.” The two of them scan each stand looking for replacement rations, tools, and other items that were in need of replacing after their latest adventure. 

A fruit stand catches Al’s eye so she stops and starts perusing the selection. With Al so concentrated on her task, Simba decides to take the opportunity to mess with her a bit. As Al takes a few pieces of fruit in her hands to examine them, she feels someone tapping on her right shoulder. She turns only to find no one is there. Knowing exactly what happened, she looks up at Simba who is standing on her left side. He’s looking up at the sky and whistling to himself, pretending he has nothing to do with the strange occurrence. Al rolls her eyes and asks “how many times are you going to pull the same ‘tap the shoulder with your tail’ trick today?”

“I don’t know. How many times are you going to fall for it?” Simba replies slyly with a big grin on his face. 

“Come on, we’re burning daylight” Al says as she pays for the fruit and begins walking toward the next stand. 

“Aye aye, captain” Simba replies as he offers Al a tiny salute and follows closely behind her as they scour the rest of the market. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now fully restocked on food and supplies, Simba and Al begin making their way back to the campsite they pitched about a mile outside the village proper. As they walk back toward the entrance to the main road, they come across an alleyway where a large group of people dressed in dark clothing appear to be surrounding a group of terrified villagers. 

“Come on! You want to be protected don’t ya? Then pay up!” the apparent leader of the group says threateningly to the townsfolk. He is a tall, muscular, human man with a scar across his left cheek and bow strapped to his back. Al and Simba look at each other, nod, acknowledging that they’re on the same page, and begin walking toward the group. 

“Excuse me fine sir” Simba exclaims loudly and in an overly formal manner. “Would you mind telling us what your business is with these people? They don’t seem too interested in whatever you’re selling.”

The leader turns to face Simba and snidely replies “well they should be. We’re offering them protection! For the right price of course.”

“Protection from what exactly?” Al asks as she steps out from behind Simba, crossing her arms over her chest. 

The leader whistles at Al and says “Why hello there. My apologies miss how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Grim. And who might you be?” He looks Al up and down, his intentions clear in his eyes. 

“Answer the question” Al replies sternly, not backing down. Simba smiles slightly, impressed by Al’s resolve, especially around such a creep.

Grim responds by taking one of Al’s hands in his own and sweetly saying “Why, protection from bandits of course. There’s been a group of travelling thieves that have been wreaking havoc on nearby villages and we simply want to do our part to protect our neighbors.” The words come off overly sweet and disingenuous. Simba glares at him as he continues to hold Al’s hand, but doesn’t step in knowing she can handle herself. 

Al pulls her hand away at the conclusion of the leader’s explanation and wipes it on her pants. “Or,” she begins, as she looks back up at Grim. “You’re the bandits and are extorting these innocent people in exchange for not burning their village to the ground.” Al continues to stand her ground even as Grim moves closer to her. 

“Oh really? And what gave you that idea?” Grim asks practically nose to nose with Al, still using the same sickeningly sweet voice. 

“Call it a hunch,” Al replies. “Leave these people alone.” 

“I’d listen to her, Grim,” Simba interjects, gently pushing Grim away from Al. “She can be pretty stubborn about these sorts of things” he says as he winks at Al playfully causing her to roll her eyes in response. 

Grim and his companions laugh at Al’s request as well as Simba’s warning. Grim asks “And if I don’t? What are you two going to do then, huh?”

“Well, to put it in terms you’ll understand, we’re going to kick your ass and then turn you into the proper authorities. How’s that sound?” Al says as she unsheathes both of her daggers. At the sight of this, Simba also unsheathes his sword and readies his shield. 

“Ooo.. I like them feisty. Show them a good time boys” Grim says as he gestures for his men to attack Simba and Al. 

“Run away! Get out of here!” Simba yells to the villagers as he blocks an attack from one of Grim’s men. The villagers comply and quickly move away from the fray. The attackers separate Simba and Al and attempt to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. However, their plan is futile. Al uses her daggers and acrobatic abilities to block and evade Grim’s men while landing knock out blows with absolute precision. Conversely, Simba transitions between his sword and shield seamlessly as he knocks Grim’s men unconscious one by one. 

At the sight of his men falling like flies, Grim balls his hands into fists, grits his teeth and mutters “damn brats!” He looks over at Al who is currently evading his men with skillful flips and jumps. A grin crosses his face as he reaches for the bow strapped to his back. He loads it with an arrow and takes aim for Al’s head. As she lands a backflip, Grim lets the arrow loose.

Al sees the arrow out of the corner of her eye and moves out of the way as best she can. However, her attackers are still coming at her full force so she is unable to completely dodge. The arrow grazes her right temple causing her to lose her balance for a moment. In that split second, two of Grim’s men land direct hits to Al’s face and stomach causing her to crumple to the ground. 

Meanwhile, Simba lands the knockout blow to the final two men that he was fighting. “Alright!” he exclaims, proud of himself. “Hey Al, did you see my..” before he can finish his thought he turns and sees Al slumped over on the ground, blood coming from her right temple and the corner of her mouth, surrounded by Grim and his remaining men. He drops his sword and shield and is frozen in place, unable to believe what he is seeing. 

Al tries to push herself up into a kneeling position, but is immediately kicked several times in the stomach by Grim; she grits her teeth to suppress the yelp that wanted to escape from her. Grim crouches down so he is closer to Al’s eye level and says “Man, I am going to have so much fun with you.” He gestures for his men to move closer to Al so they can take her away. Al continues to grit her teeth as she attempts to slide her body away from the group of men approaching her.

At the sight of this, Simba balls his hands into fists and he begins to bear his sharp teeth. As the men grow closer to Al, his pupils shrink until they are no larger than the head of a pin. Low, guttural growls begin to escape from behind his throat as he positions himself on all fours. In a single leap, he closes the distance and lands directly in front of Al. A threatening roar erupts from Simba’s mouth which causes Grim and his men to jump back in fear. He quickly glances over his shoulder to make sure Al is okay and sees that she has shifted to a kneeling position. She clutches her side in pain as she looks back at him with a look of surprise on her face. Seeing this infuriates Simba further which is reinforced by the return of his deep growls. He turns back to face Grim and his men and starts to slowly walk toward them as if stalking prey in the wild. 

The frightened men begin to walk backwards and utter incoherent apologies as Simba continues to slink forward. Simba’s eyes were fixated on Grim specifically; in this moment, his sole mission was to make him pay for hurting Al and trying to take her away. Eventually, the mens’ backs make contact with one of the walls forming the alleyway, leaving them no escape from the predator in front of them. When Simba finally closes in, he raises his clawed hand in the air and is about to swing when a voice stops him dead in his tracks. 

“Simba!” Al screams as she runs as quickly as she can given her injuries. She positions herself between the remaining men and Simba. “Simba, look at me,” she says, pleading. Simba ignores her request and tries to go around her, but Al intercepts him every time. “Simba, please look at me” Al says again, this time grabbing Simba’s face and gently stroking his cheeks. “I’m fine, see? I look a lot worse than I am but I promise I’m okay. I know seeing people you care about getting hurt can make you angry and upset and it makes you want to do things you wouldn’t do normally. Believe me I know that feeling so trust me when I say that they are not worth it. Low lives like them are not worth losing a part of yourself. They’ll pay for what they did, we’ll make sure of that, okay. So please, calm down and come back to me. Simba, please come back to me.”

As Simba listens to Al speak, Simba’s pupils begin to dilate and return to their normal size. He slowly stands back up on two legs with a solemn and disappointed look on his face. 

Grim suddenly exclaims “Oh my god thank you so much! We thought we were goners when that monster started looking at us like..” before Grim can finish his thought, Al turns and punches him square in the nose causing it to bleed profusely. 

“Say one more thing about my friend and believe me, he will be the least of your worries” Al says while tightly gripping the bandit leader’s shirt collar. “Weapons. On the ground. Now” Al orders. “Hey Simba, can you grab some rope so we can tie these guys up?” Al waits for a response but is instead met with silence. She turns around and sees Simba standing there, staring at the hand he was going to use to attack Grim and his men. “Hey Simba” Al says again, this time getting his attention. 

Once Grim and his men were tied up, Al and Simba walked in silence and delivered them to the local authorities where they were dealt with swiftly. After seeing the injuries Al had suffered, the local healer offered to patch her up, free of charge. She agreed but, instead of staying with her, Simba opted to return to the campsite and get started on dinner. As he walked away, ears drooped and tail hanging low, Al knew what she had to do upon her return to camp. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

After finishing up with the healer in town, Al is escorted to her camp by one of the local law enforcement officers. As they approach the camp, Al begins to see the soft glow of the fire that Simba had made.

“I can see my camp from here so I think I can make it the rest of the way on my own. Thanks again for the escort” Al says. 

It’s not a problem” the officer replies. “Thank you again to you and your friend for saving our village from those bandits. We really do appreciate it! Enjoy your night and be safe.” With that, the officer turns around and starts heading back toward the village. 

As Al continues getting closer to camp, she begins to make out Simba’s outline sitting on a log by the fire. She smiles to herself, remembering Simba’s courageous actions from earlier that day. Al pauses for a moment as the image of Simba walking back to camp without his usual energy pops into her head. 

‘Did he lose control? Is that why he’s upset with himself? But he saved me so why is he still so down about it?’ Al thinks to herself. ‘I have to reassure and comfort him like he’s done for me so many times... no matter what it takes!’ Al continues the last bit of her walk to camp, her intentions firmly set in her mind. 

As she reaches the edge of camp, Al can clearly see Simba now as he roasts something over the fire. His eyes seem distant, his ears are low, and his tail is wrapped around his feet. “I’m back” Al finally calls out to him.

Simba’s ears perk up a bit as he turns his head slightly in the direction of Al’s voice. “Welcome back” he says, lacking his normal excitement. “How’d everything go with the healer?”

“Pretty good overall” Al replies. I had a cut on my temple which she patched up pretty quickly and I had a few broken ribs which took a little bit longer, but are feeling a lot better now. She wrapped them up just to be safe, but they should be fine in a day or two.” As Al speaks, Simba avoids looking at her and instead focuses on his cooking. “So, what's for dinner? I’m starved.”

“Oh, the villagers gave me some specialty meat as I was leaving as a thank you so I’m making that” Simba responds, still missing his normal energy. 

“That sounds good,” Al replies awkwardly. The two of them sit in silence for a few moments. 

Right as Al is about to speak, Simba breaks the silence by saying “I’m sorry.” Al turns to face him, Simba still avoiding her gaze. 

“And you’re sorry for what exactly?” Al asks, confused. 

“I’m sorry for earlier,” Simba replies. “I couldn’t protect you and because of that I got upset and lost control of myself and almost did something I would have regretted a lot. Plus that monster I turned into scared you so yeah.. I’m sorry for all of that.”

“I wasn’t scared,” Al says simply. Simba’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“You weren’t?” Simba asks, shocked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. I was surprised, sure, but I was never scared because I knew that the beautiful creature protecting me was you, not some monster” Al replies, a smile crossing her face. 

“But I lost control and almost hurt people and..” before Simba can finish his thought, he suddenly feels a warm hand on his shoulder that stops him dead in his tracks. He looks up for the first time and sees Al, smiling while gently rubbing circles into his fur with her thumb.

“Simba, you are the kindest, most compassionate person I have ever met,” Al says as she moves her hand from Simba’s shoulder to his cheek. "Sometimes our emotions just get the better of us and how we manage that looks different for everyone. The way you cope seems to be rooted in your instincts which is so unique and special and you should embrace that instead of trying to hide it away. I promise you, you are not a monster. I know that's how you see this part of yourself, but I don't think a monster would go through so much trouble to protect someone. You saved my life today. If you weren’t there, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. So, in short, thank you for saving my life and please know that I will always be here for you. If you lose control again, I’ll be here to pull you back, okay?”

Simba is absolutely floored by the kindness and sincerity in Al's words. His whole life, he thought he had to hide this part of himself in order to be accepted and liked by others. After today's events, Simba was sure that Al would view him differently, thinking she wouldn't be able to look past the 'beast' inside of him. He thought he was going to lose her forever, but the warmth and reassurance of her words replaced the despair and dread he felt with joy and relief. “Thank you, Al. That means so much more than you can ever imagine” Simba says, as he pulls Al into a big hug, a few tears streaming down his face. Al strokes Simba’s mane as she rests her head in the crook of his neck. 

After a few moments, Simba quickly releases the hug, suddenly remembering he’s cooking. He pulls the meat of the fire as fast as he can, revealing that it was now slightly burnt. Al giggles hysterically, causing Simba to follow suit. They both proceed to eat the slightly burnt meat as they talk into the late hours of the night. Al’s smile stretched from ear to ear the entire night, happy to see that Simba was back to his normal cheery self and that her words had eased his mind.


End file.
